Aimee Carrero is ‘Young & Hungry’ For More

Aimee Carrero is a busy woman. She is the voice and face behind some of your favorite characters. As Sophia Rodriguez on Freeform’s Young & Hungry, she delivers funny one-liners while wearing the cutest outfits and saving her best friend Gabby when she finds herself in sticky situations every week. As the voice of Elena on Disney’s Elena of Avalor, she is also the first Latina Disney princess and spends her time saving the day and protecting the people of her kingdom. No matter what your age, watching Carrero on your TV screens every week makes one thing clear: she’s an actress you won’t forget.

Dress: Hotel Particulier, Ring and cuff: NMD

Cliché: Did you always want to be an actress? When did you decide to pursue it as a career?Aimee Carrero:I knew I wanted to be a performer in some capacity since before I can really remember. It took on some interesting incarnations in my pre-teen years (SEE: Opera/Classical). Finally, I realized the component that most interested me about performance is storytelling. [I enjoyed] delving into a world different than my own and relaying those experiences to an audience.

I knew I wanted to be a performer in some capacity since before I can really remember.

Vest: Lotuz, Skirt: Ema Savahl

What was your first acting role?My first professional acting role was playing a no-dialogue statue in The Actor’s Playhouse (local Miami theater) production of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I was 14.

Has the way you approached acting changed since then?Absolutely. Like any art form, it has to grow and evolve. I think I will never stop learning and discovering new things.

On Freeform’s Young & Hungry, you play Sophia Rodriguez, who is arguably the show’s funniest character. What is your favorite thing about your character? Do you have anything in common with her?I love playing Sofia because she says what everyone is thinking. She is strong, ambitious, and unafraid of failure. She is a little bit like Elena of Avalor in that way, minus the sex jokes.

What’s it like working with the cast of Young & Hungry?It’s great! We are a family with all of the love, loyalty, and occasional frustrations of a family.

I think I will never stop learning and discovering new things.

Earrings: Dori Csengeri, Dress: Carmen Kirstein

You are currently the voice of Disney’s first Latina princess Elena, in Elena of Avalor. What does this role mean to you?It means the absolute world to me. Latin people have been waiting a long time to see our images represented. What excites me the most about Elena of Avalor is that it features a woman of color in a powerful position, doing a great job. She is a great ambassador; not only for Latin people, but for those who are unfamiliar with our culture and traditions.

As both Sophia and Elena, you are representing characters/people of Latin descent. Being Latina yourself, do you feel a pressure to be a role model in your personal life as well as your characters’?Strangely, no. I really try to keep my personal and professional life separate. As an audience member, I find it much easier to escape into a story if I’m not constantly thinking about an actor’s dating life or what they had for breakfast. I look forward to the day when I can get off of social media for good.

What do you hope young Latina girls watching both shows take away from your characters?That they are capable; that they CAN. These projects are important steps in a marathon run towards equality. I am able to play these characters because of women like Rita Moreno and Chita Rivera who paved the way. We must build on what the women who came before us have done; it is a hard, necessary, rewarding labor.

We must build on what the women who came before us have done; it is a hard, necessary, rewarding labor.

Vest: Lotuz, Skirt: Ema Savahl

We hear your wedding day is quickly approaching! When’s the big day, and could you tell us about how you’re prepping for it?Yes, very quickly approaching. I’m trying to take in and enjoy as much as I can—a huge challenge for an anxiety-ridden person! Both my fiancé and I will be relieved when the day finally comes and there are no more to-do lists and seating chart dramas!

What is your dream role? Which actor or director would you love to work with someday?I’d love to go back to New York for some theater. Film-wise, I always thought it would be such an adventure to work with Wes Anderson. I so appreciate the artistry and meticulous detail that goes into his movies.

What projects/roles are coming up next for you?We are still waiting on Season 5 news for Young & Hungry and I’ve gone back to work on Elena of Avalor. Other than that, it would be great to be back on Blindspot this season. It’s interesting because, as an actor, you spend your entire career trying to fill your schedule with projects, but even when your calendar is packed, you never lose that desire for more. So, I am always reaching for more.